Friday, January 21, 2011

Frigid Friday

Brrr! As are several others among our favorite bloggers, I am looking for a January thaw. I hate to say it, but I don't think we are going to get one though. We moved animals yesterday making room for Zinnia's Whirlhill Kingpin daughter to have a stall in the milking barn.

She is now in my dear Rosie's stall and Rosie is up next to Boston in a tie stall. Frankly I hated putting her there because Boston's name really should begin with a "B" like it does, but end in "TCH". However, men have their agendas and sometimes their priorities are different than those of women.

Boston likes to claim the water bowl as her personal property and not let the animal next to her use it. This hasn't been too big a problem with big cows tied next to her, but Rose is only a yearling. Of course she is the granddaughter of Bayberry and the great granddaughter of Balsam, two of the biggest, toughest, meanest (to other cows that is) animals that we have, so maybe she will hold her own. If she has trouble the boss is going to drop her down a new water bowl that Boston can't reach. However, she is my very favorite among my animals and probably the best I own. I want her to be okay. I want her to go to the shows this summer maybe.......

June, they have a pecking order just like chickens. Big tough ones eat first and shove not so tough ones around. I swear they even wait to settle grudges when winter cold and ice keeps them indoors. The first time they go back out, OMG what a mess! I stand outside with a stick and holler at them the first few times they go out. They can really hurt each other. We had to turn Balsam out with some heifers the other day while we fixed her stall. She THREW the Kingpin we just brought in (who probably weighs 1250 pounds), through the air with her head. All four of her feet were off the ground at one point. Imagine if Balsam had horns! I was watching from the house and called the guys at the barn (Sunday morning, I was off) to get her in before she caused one of them to lose their calves. They are simply nothing like the way they are popularly portrayed.

Cathy, she was fine this morning, so far so good. She was drinking from the bowl and although Boston was threatening her and glaring at her she did let her drink. I will be watching very closely though...I just hated moving her off my line, because I am the fussy one and "my" cows have it best. Going ten below here tonight. The guys are off buying better anti-freeze for the big tractor right now.

Geez! Well, yeah, they're herd animals, so there would have to be some kind of pecking order I guess. I would be horrified to see that kind of roughness, and yes! thank God she doesn't have horns!I will look at cows with new eyes from now on!

Linda, it is supposed to get really nasty the next few nights. The boss is out draining a tractor now.

June, they can be sweet too, but they are animals and don't think anything like we do. Alan's cow reached for some feed when he was in the stall to milk her tonight and really gave him a slamming. Didn't mean it a bit, just not thinking about him.

Cathy, it is funny about temperament. The Dairy Herd Imporvement Association measures milk and quality and things like that about cows for farmers and for the national records. When you cull, that is sell a cow, they keep a record of the reason. Temperament is not one of the allowable reason. Yet that is a common reason for cows to be sold. If you can't milk them without getting hurt you aren't very likely to keep them.

Linda, I will hold good thoughts. tonight is supposed to be our worst night. We actually left the wood furnace fan turned on last night, something that we almost never do. However the house has gotten so cold it has about been unbearable. It was nice and warm this morning although I shudder to think how much wood we went through.